Review RPG Codex Review: Darth Roxor on Disappointment, thy name is Pillars of Eternity

[Zboj Lamignat]

I'm not the biggest Obsidian fan to say the least, but I genuinely expected this game to be a (lot) better than FNV. It's not. In fact all the rampant discussion here about it perplex me even more than all the humongous Mass Effect/Dragon Age/Skyrim/Witcher threads. What's there even to discuss, it's just a thorough meh with a sprinkle of horrible and typical Obsidian "but they had good intentions!".

I fully agree with Darth Roxor ironyuri that this game hardly resembles IE games and when it does, it's in a bad way. The repetitive wilderness areas with repetitive pointless content "borrowed" from BG I is the first thing that struck me like a truck. Yeah, that's what I always mean when I get nostalgic about IE games. Even graphics, while nice, remind me of ToEE or the first Sacred more than any IE game.

The game likes to boast about ideas that are good on paper, but it doesn't do anything good with them in practice. There's no scaling, great, right? Actually, in goddamn Skyrim, when you delve into boring dungeon #61 you don't get any interesting loot, you don't get any challenging fights, but at least you do get a skill level up or two. Here you get trash loot, trash combat and no exp gain. If that is the new wave of crpg incline led by a genius designer then just give me a second to get my coat. This might sound cheesy, but this game is literally no fun allowed/10.

And I won't get my hopes up about things getting better after expansion packs, since I found majority of the dlc content for FNV offensively horrible.

 

[A user named cat]

Where is the video review?

 

[karnak]

My personal opinion: is PoE objectively on par with Baldur's Gate I? Yes. It sucks at encounter design, itemization and the character system, but it has better role-playing possibilities, better companions and a gorgeous presentation. It's a tie, so to speak.

HOWEVER, that's still a big fucking disappointment after all this years. Having better presentation than a game from 17 years ago is nothing less than the minimal obligation of a dev today, and role-playing elements like PoE has are the norm today. Every damn RPG in the last decade or so has those - Obsidian itself delivered much more on this with Alpha Brotocol and MotB. And Baldur's Gate reinvented RTwP combat, PoE adds nothing new of its own.

So really, what does that leave PoE with? It took the formula of a 17-year old game (while ignoring the formula of the vastly superior BG2), added modern design sensibilities every RPG has today and then proceeded to fuck up on the actual system underneath. Everything that doesn't come from BG's original formula or from the "How to design games and make friends in 2010" book is just lackluster - the battles, the dungeons, the items, the story, the setting, th quests, the villain... (ok, Durante is cool).

Now you've said it all, man.

 

[hiver]

Where is the video review?

Rampage Jackson reviews PoE grades!

mkay?

 

[Jaedar]

That reddit post: Posted by Perkel 666.

Coincidence?!

 

[Ulminati]

Googled "RPGCodex" "Pillars of Eternity" "review". This was all that came up:

Funny, skyrim has 98% approval rate on steam, will this dumbfuck defend it too?
Fucking plebbit and its userbase of pop-culture retards.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I was hoping to find mention on rpgwatch, obsitians forums etc with butthurt. But lolddit was the only result that came up

 

[Perkel]

That reddit post: Posted by Perkel 666.

Coincidence?!

Wanted to post it here later for top kek

 

[Bubbles]

That reddit post: Posted by Perkel 666.

Coincidence?!

For those who don't understand the Codex, the reviews have very little editorial direction. Which is to say, anyone in the community can submit one if it meets a bare minimum of grammatical professionalism. I know for a fact there's another one being written that will probably be 10/10, GOTY, I came several times, etc. Maybe once you take the average of this review and that one you'll feel better about it?

Posted by "Zeriell". Coincidence?

 

[Surf Solar]

Review by a guy trying too hard lately who got repeatedly called out for his bullshit and then going silent on it in one of the megathreads (99% of the encounters are won with select all+left click!!11), drama/butthurt behind the scenes because he thinks the codex sold out so he had to state an example.

I review this review 2 razor blades of 10.

 

[Zeriel]

That reddit post: Posted by Perkel 666.

Coincidence?!

For those who don't understand the Codex, the reviews have very little editorial direction. Which is to say, anyone in the community can submit one if it meets a bare minimum of grammatical professionalism. I know for a fact there's another one being written that will probably be 10/10, GOTY, I came several times, etc. Maybe once you take the average of this review and that one you'll feel better about it?

Posted by "Zeriell". Coincidence?

Written in smeared shit stains. Coincidence?

 

[A user named cat]

Where is the video review?

 

[shadow9d9]

It wouldn't be the CODEX without being XTREME. In this case :hate: and :cocksucking:

It's actually good that PoE will get 2 reviews because the truth is in the middle. VD's 10/10 best game since W2 evar review, will set things straight.

Roxor should also do W2 too, so we can tone down from VD's unbelievably praising review.

I don't see anything extreme in any way. All I see is your post and a few others showing extreme desperation in trying to dismiss a review without having to address even a single point made in a very long review. Throw in the whole fallacy of "it must be somewhere in the middle," and you show yourself as a cliche without an independent or unique thought of your own.

 

[shadow9d9]

Meh, a 'trying too hard' review by a guy who has been calling the game 'shit' since way before release. Another day at the codex.

Another attempt to dismiss an entirety of a review in two lines without having to address a single argument. Another day on the internet. Why bother having to discuss something when you could take the laziest way out possible while still declaring(to yourself) victory?

 

[Darth Roxor]

Review by a guy trying too hard lately who got repeatedly called out for his bullshit and then going silent on it in one of the megathreads (99% of the encounters are won with select all+left click!!11)

you are stupid

drama/butthurt behind the scenes because he thinks the codex sold out so he had to state an example.

and assume too much

 

[you know what time it is]

Idk, it got me excited for things to come. It's not a great game, but it's a solid foundation.

It's ironic that review seemed to be more shallow than the game itself, i expected more from you Darth Roxor

 

[bonescraper]

Suxor makes some good points, but he's obviously trying too hard. He has no consistency at all. That's the guy who adores Shadowrun: Daggerfall, a game that's fails even harder at every point PoE fails at. Daggerfall has great writing, setting and presentation, but everything else is shallow and simpistic. It's entirely linear, forces you into powergaming, has no reactivity, shit character system, abysmal itemization, almost no exploration etc. But it's a better game in his mind, because of his inner feelz, so there's that. Thankfully, i don't come here for reviews or opinions.

 

[Quatlo]

(99% of the encounters are won with select all+left click!!11)

But they are, do you even musket brah?

 

[Surf Solar]

If I am so stupid then link me posts from you where you actually reply to Grunker in the thread I mentionend?

Unless ofcourse 'youar a dumb' makes for a convincing argument there

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Review by a guy trying too hard lately who got repeatedly called out for his bullshit and then going silent on it in one of the megathreads (99% of the encounters are won with select all+left click!!11), drama/butthurt behind the scenes because he thinks the codex sold out so he had to state an example.

I review this review 2 razor blades of 10.

So do you like the game and think the review is wrong? I'm targeting you with this question as I remember you as one of the rare sane individuals that didn't exhibit symptoms of severe schizophrenia when discussing FNV.

 

[aweigh]

poe is 100% baby's first rpg experience

also any time you see someone disagreeing with this review just take a look at their join date

 

[Surf Solar]

I think the game is allright, but I am reserving final judgement until I find the time to properly finish it. I dislike the engagment system (done for with IE mod) and the dry writing/retarded lingo of the game. These are valid complaints.

However I simply can't take a reviewer serious when I have read so many retarded posts of him in the poe threads beforehand. Which is a shame, because I usually like Roxors style of criticism.

 

[Ulminati]

If I am so stupid then link me posts from you where you actually reply to Grunker in the thread I mentionend?

Unless ofcourse 'youar a dumb' makes for a convincing argument there

I solved most of the lategame encounters with bears and right-click muskets once I realized how strong the tactic was. It was the only reason I didn't fall asleep in the second half.

In the first half, I solved them with doorway + withdraw whenever possible

 

[shadow9d9]

Review by a guy trying too hard lately who got repeatedly called out for his bullshit and then going silent on it in one of the megathreads (99% of the encounters are won with select all+left click!!11), drama/butthurt behind the scenes because he thinks the codex sold out so he had to state an example.

I review this review 2 razor blades of 10.

It should be REALLY easily to address the points he made then, right? Hmm, strangely you had no actual substance to your post. Another attempt to attack the reviewer to dismiss the review outright. Looks like we are seeing a a lot of that around here.

There is NOTHING "harsh" or "extreme" about being critical about a game in a review. Reviews are not supposed to be bootlicking lovefests like they mostly are nowadays. Anything that doesn't suck them off is viewed as a horrible thing nowadays. If you want lots of sucking off, go to rpgwatch! They will predigest news for you, "interview" people with nothing more than worshipful questions, and dismiss all negative reviews for you!

The internet has become a place where only the mainstream/generic/filthy leftist masses decided opinion matters. Metacritic? WHo gives a shit. Either the review mentions criticisms that are valid or it didn't. If you feel that the points were invalid, then ADDRESS them. About 50% of the posts here are just nerdrage that are literally angry that someone has a different opinion than them or generally accepted internet opinion. Either write a counterargument or stfu. You come across as a whiney baby who is butthurt that there is a different opinion than you.

Note: I have not played POE and will not likely get around to it for a year or so. I backed the kickstarter. I have no need to justify the pitiful amount I spent to get the game on kickstarter by sticking to only positive reviews. The points made in this review seem completely logical to me.

 

[hiver]

Where is the video review?

-snipped-

I was actually thinking of it as if that was a Rampage review of PoE grades.

cmonn...

 

[WhiteGuts]

Suxor makes some good points, but he's obviously trying too hard. He has no consistency at all. That's the guy who adores Shadowrun: Daggerfall, a game that's fails even harder at every point PoE fails at. Daggerfall has great writing, setting and presentation, but everything else is shallow and simpistic. It's entirely linear, forces you into powergaming, has no reactivity, shit character system, abysmal itemization, almost no exploration etc. But it's a better game in his mind, because of his inner feelz, so there's that. Thankfully, i don't come here for reviews or opinions.

Dragonfall didn't have nearly the same resources.